As a kid, Wednesday was one of the best days of the week. Wednesday meant that the new Sports Illustrated would be arriving in the mail later that afternoon. Back then, Sports Illustrated had the coolest sports photos (that we usually ripped out of the school library’s magazine because we didn’t want to ruin our own) and provided instant reading material for the entire week (I’d bring my SI with me everywhere all school day long…hoping to sneak a read in during study hall or when the teacher wasn’t looking…this was before the days of SSR).
During the late 1980’s is when I started to fall in love with sports and I remember reading my uncle’s Sports Illustrated magazines whenever I visited my grandparents’ house…sometimes I was even given older issues to take home and read…and I instantly became a fan of SI. As a result, I still remember getting my first Sports Illustrated subscription as a kid…my first ever issue was in January of 1989 and Tony Rice of Notre Dame was on the cover.
During this pre-Internet/social media era, Sports Illustrated was THE source for sports news and knowledge. In fact, I used to treat my SI’s as if they were gold…I wouldn’t throw any of them away…often looking back at old issues for articles and pictures from time to time. One year, during my college winter break, I spent almost an entire day sorting through over 10 years of Sports Illustrated magazines…I was like a hoarder when it came to them…as they were such a part of my childhood. I still remember certain childhood events by the SI cover of that week…call me (sports) crazy!
Obviously, times have changed. Eventually I let my subscription run out…as Sports Illustrated soon became a shell of itself due to the world wide web. But, just recently, I decided to subscribe to SI again (getting a free subscription helped). It is, however, way different now…my issues no longer come on Wednesday (thanks California¡) and I now read them on my iPad. And while I no longer read them cover to cover, like in the past…my favorite section now is the Digital Bonus section…A Look Back – This Week in SI’s Cover History. This section takes a look back at issues from that same week…5, 10, 20, and 40 years ago. Of course, I enjoy the 20-year look backs the best…as it brings me back to my childhood and when following sports (and everything else for that matter) was much simpler.
Who remembers this one from 20 years ago this week…
Russell Maryland and Elvis Grbac…I’m sure the Cowboys and 49ers would like to turn back the clock as well.
Shout-out: SPORT magazine was a pretty epic magazine as well…a once a month magazine that had (at times) even better photos than Sports Illustrated…and a year subscription was only like 10 bucks. And don’t forget about Sports Illustrated for Kids…while the articles were geared for kids…the posters and trading cards were must gets from the school library. And who can forget the Sports Illustrated posters…they are still hanging up in my old room at my parents’ house.
Last add…I don’t watch a lot of sitcoms anymore (none really), but I really enjoy Wednesday nights on ABC…if I can’t find any good sports to watch. The following three shows…The Middle, The Goldbergs, and Modern Family really crack me up. It must be all the nostalgia…I guess.